ECM Layers and Interrelationships. ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 1

ECM is an term Solutions can utilize one, two, or N products Consider: Repositories Classification Case Analytics BPM? Integrating one or more is often useful ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 2

Two basic concepts Consumers Producers Repositories consume raw content (docs) and, potentially, output from other tools Classification (i.e. document category, etc.) Analytics (sets of keywords, scores ) Repositories can also be producers User query result set Use of API called from external app ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 3

Stacks of products that produce and consume from one another Classification produces categories consumed by BPM Repositories Workflow managers Many ECM vendors expose an API Java, C, Python Web based access (e.g. SOAP, XML, CGI) Allows custom integration of multiple tools ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 4

Most common: browser based mainly for customer-facing apps Use of installable client seems rare Back-end products may not have a UI Designed primarily for consumption by other apps Many vendors distribute starter UI packages Heavily customized by clients or services teams Many customers design their own UI from scratch Completely use case dependent Re-use of existing corporate intranet UI look and feel very common Also allows SSO using existing security model ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 5

Case and Process sometimes used synonymously Depends on the business and practices Process is generally the superclass term A case involves a process A process may not involve a case Process is the more general term Example: a patient arrives at a hospital ER Handling the patient s complaint involves a process A case may be opened to address the complaint Handling the case likely involves another process! ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 7

[A]n activity or set of activities that will accomplish a specific organizational goal. The goal of BPM is to reduce human error and miscommunication and focus stakeholders on the requirements of their roles. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/business-process-management Basically: how you accomplish a unit of work ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 8

Software Support [User calls with problem ] Support rep answers phone Determines customer issue Creates case Case is routed to Wally, supporting Application X Wally looks at logs, decides it s a bug Opens case with Alice, developer for Application X Alice corrects the bug Logs fix and new code in CMS Releases fix to customer via Wally Wally reviews fix with customer Case closed ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 9

Content often includes process-related info Example: status of current support cases How many have been open for >10 days? How many of these are high severity? How many have not been updated in >2 days? What do we call this type of info? Analytics! Automation is the key Enterprise level BPM allows monitoring of KPIs Example: how efficient is our support system? ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 10

Consider our sample support case Process analytics may identify bottlenecks Wally emails Alice, but she s on vacation Process comes to a halt Wally doesn t know Better way for Support to engage Development? Case or BPM tools can help improve existing process Example: email to escalate case to Development Change to use of case management tool Could notify all engineers in Development of new case Wally not notified because he s on vacation ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 11

BPM can involve zero tech! However, it may involve: BPM Workflow ECM (Enterprise Content Management) ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) / Business Applications ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 12

Case gets opened Phone support -> email to support engineer Support engineer -> email to Development What s the problem here? Classic ECM issues! No auditing No reporting mechanism No ability to track status Lots of ad-hoc processes Relies on subjective, human activities ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 13

Common process for the enterprise Auditing, reporting, tracking, consistency Idle/critical cases flagged at one or more levels Engineer Manager C-level Enhanced reporting for critical customers/issues Potential to isolate common faults/bottlenecks ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 14

Confluence of multiple ECM areas Possible automated searching of knowledge base Uses enterprise content repository Instantly return possible matching cases to Support Possible automation of case routing Great use of automated classification Simplifies/accelerates delivery to correct engineers Possible automation of records management Generation of enterprise level reporting Analytics, anyone? A reason ECM is a concept, not a product ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 15

Improved compliance Health care: retention of critical process records Legal: documentation of case process/progress General: documentation of step-by-step process Time stamps can be critical Eliminates reliance on email or ad hoc recording Potential for review Flagging (automated/manual/both) of areas requiring review by management ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 16

Nearly anything, really Retail Product sales, returns, complaints Health care Triage, case management, billing, insurance Emergency services http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trmtl2elp9g Customer support Business Recovery (BR)/Disaster Recovery (DR) ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 17

Managed by the business user Many solutions offer on-the-fly change capability Be careful in production environments! Immediate visibility to management Reports for middle management Pretty pictures for C-level Dashboards, etc. Integration with other ECM elements Analytics, repositories, etc. Our old friends Auditing Accountability ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 19

Generally include: Workflow management Exception processing Business rules (if-then-else, etc.) Reporting Specialized handling by industry/market Health care requirements!= Retail requirements Different views of a case by role Logging, auditing, other security functions ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 20

Design & Simulation Services Monitoring Services Rules Engine Orchestration (Workflow) Engine Process Registry Content / Data Repositories Integration Services Source: AIIM Introduction to BPM ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 21

The automation of manual tasks Re-engineering the Enterprise Change Management Six Sigma A management methodology Workflow or BPM technology But the techniques and tools can be used to support any of these if you want them to! Source: AIIM Introduction to BPM ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 23

Organize around outcomes not tasks Correct and improve processes before (potentially) automating them Establish processes and assign ownership Standardize processes across the enterprise Enable continuous change Improve existing processes, rather than build radically new or perfect processes Source: AIIM Introduction to BPM ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 24

What Is BPM Role of ECM & BPM Business Case Strategy BPM as a Practice BPM as a Project Business Analysis Process Improvement Flowcharting 101 Planning the Project Specialist Process Modelling BPM Approaches BPM Technologies Improvement Methodologies Build Business Case Build Project Team BPM Tools Overview Intro to EAI Collaboration And BPM Monitor Processes Continuous Improvement Gather Requirements Practitioner Source: AIIM Introduction to BPM Manage Change Implement Change Design Processes Ethics Enterprise BPM Case Studies BPM Futures Master ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 25

Perceived or Expected Benefits: Reduce staff and office overhead numbers Process business critical activities faster Reduce the number of errors and exceptions Reduce overall IT costs Reduce duplications Increase visibility into operational efficiencies and bottlenecks Reduce business risks Improve customer service and retention Source: AIIM Introduction to BPM ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 26

Both BPM and ECM: Have notions of workflow Involve business processes Involve use of resources Involve tasks Work on the basis of the right information, to the right person, at the right time Have a reputation for being expensive ECM almost always involves processes But not all BPM deals with ECM (unstructured content) ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 27

http://www.opentext.com/what-we-do/products/business- Process-Management http://www.softwareag.com/corporate/products/wm/bpm/re sources/default.asp http://www.bpm.com/ http://www.appian.com/bpmbasics/ http://www.aiim.org http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/bpm/overview/inde x.html Many other players in this application space ISMT E-190 Copyright 2013 Richard E Joltes 28